


Taking Chances

by Viridian5



Category: Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place
Genre: Episode Related, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-01-20
Updated: 1999-01-20
Packaged: 2017-10-02 08:46:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viridian5/pseuds/Viridian5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some upheavals in Pete's life as well as his reaction to a certain photo help Pete get a clue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Phooey on sit-coms' cutesy names for episodes! For brevity, the episodes referenced here are "Two Guys, a Girl, and...": "...a Homecoming," "...an Internship," "...an Oxford," "...Thanksgiving," "...a Gamble," and "...a Proposal."
> 
> Yes, this is _Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place_ slash. If you're too frightened, you can leave now, but we'll pick on you once you're gone...
> 
> Berg's full, actual name is "Michael Bergen."
> 
> For Te, who only encouraged me in my madness. This story has not known the touch of a beta, so all mistakes are my own.

Berg's dark eyes gleamed. "I'm really impressed. It takes a special person to lose his job, girl, and surrogate son in one day. I think this is one for the record books."

Pete leaned back on the couch. "You're not helping."

"I tried to. I told you that proposing was a bad idea, but you couldn't listen to me. What do I know?"

"Like you've never done anything stupid for a woman. I remember _someone_ going off to England even--"

"You're lucky she turned you down. It's not like you really wanted to marry her."

"She was The One!" They had this conversation about The One on a regular basis, so Pete knew Berg would answer with something like...

"This week. You wouldn't have proposed if you hadn't seen Michael with his father. You were trying to hold onto the kid, not her."

Pete looked at his longtime roommate. He had some suspicions about Berg's motives that had only grown stronger lately. "You liked the kid too."

"I don't like anyone."

"If you disliked him, you could have found a way to sneak off on your own. Instead, you took him to the dogtrack to teach him ratios. Not a bright idea--"

"Hey, it worked!"

"--but you seemed to be trying to help."

"He's my namesake. How could I not feel some kind of bond?"

"Like she named him for you. You liked being a second dad."

Pete watched Berg bustle around the kitchen. His roommate was always in motion and seemed to have more energy than should have been humanly possible. He'd watched Berg before but not with this much attention.

"I would be a terrible dad. _You_ do the responsible thing."

"That's part of why I'd be so good at it. I wasn't just the good-time dad. I was there for the rough stuff too, like helping him study and going to the principal for him."

"Well, I admire your anal rectitude. That newfound enjoyment of discipline might help you later." Berg grinned and got himself some milk. "I'd rather be Uncle Runs-With-Scissors," Berg said, making Pete smile at the affectionate way Berg used the insulting name he'd created. "Or the grandmother who spoils the hell out of the kid."

"Not the grandfather?"

"You've never met my grandfathers. From the one of yours I met--"

"Skip it. The other one's different."

"Whatever. Besides, I think your bride might have had some objections to me being Michael's other dad."

"You really didn't want me to marry her."

"I knew you were making a mistake. You're too young and not ready. She wasn't The One, and you only knew her for a month."

Pete baited the hook. "So I should hold out for someone I've known for a long time."

Berg just looked back, inscrutable. "People you know can still surprise you. Why take a chance on a stranger?"

"You would."

Berg leaned against the counter. "You're wrong; I don't take stupid chances. You should be spontaneous, not stupid."

"Sure. If I was spontaneous instead of stupid, I could have blown a wad of money I didn't even have to fly to England to find a woman who wasn't there anyway and who only intended to keep me as a second boyfriend."

"Ow. That was almost cruel." Berg smiled in that smug, devilchild way that lit up his eyes and made Pete want to grab him. "You're getting there, Grasshopper. But you start to dilute the effect if you overuse a tidbit."

Pete admired the long, lean sprawl of his roommate. He'd been thinking some very different thoughts lately, mostly due to... "Looking at those underwear photos of you was enlightening."

Berg's face closed down, shutting out all of its usual inner light. "I don't want to hear about it." There may have been actual hurt there.

"They made me wonder what else you might have done for money. Maybe... porn?" Pete smiled. He had managed to render Berg speechless. _That_ was one for the record books.

Berg recovered. "Oh, please."

Pete stood and wandered over. "It just made me curious, that's all."

Berg leaned into his personal space, almost threatening. "About...?"

"You. What kind."

Berg's voice had dropped low and soft until it hissed across Pete's skin. "What are you expecting to hear?"

They were standing so close that Pete could feel the heat radiating from the other man. He ignored the streak of terror that thrummed through him and leaned in, craning his head up a little, until their lips touched. The fear of what he was doing and its consequences //If he takes this the wrong way, I could lose my best friend// faded when Berg started to kiss back, demanding yet gentle. Thinking became the last thing on his mind.

//Had to be gay porn. Oh God...//

As obvious as it was, he couldn't help thinking that this was nothing like kissing a woman. But he wasn't so sure it was like kissing a man either, not that he had any experience. This was Berg--brilliant, mischievous, unpredictable, a bit evil, a bit dangerous, but also caring and loyal--and so strongly, blindingly so that Pete would have known that for certain even in the dark.

It felt so odd to have his head tilted up for this for once, being in the arms of someone taller. Berg had taken control of him, wrapped and cradled him. It felt good. He also felt overwhelmed, but not so much that he couldn't stop this if he wanted to. He didn't. His hands combed through soft, curly hair he'd wanted to touch for a longer time than he could admit. Berg was hard against him, but he didn't feel as threatened as he could have.

They broke apart a little to breathe. "My roommate, the porn star," Pete moaned when Berg ground against him in response.

"Still curious?" Berg asked, breath teasing Pete's ear.

Pete realized that it was all up to him. He knew now that Berg wanted him, but if he decided that what they'd just done had been a little practical joke, carrying on Sharon's campaign of harassment about the photo, Berg would back away and agree. Everything could go on as it had before. He didn't have to lose Berg as a friend.

A few months ago, none of the things Pete was thinking now would have ever occurred to him. But that Pete had been certain he knew everything about himself, life, and his place in it. He'd been an idiot, and he would have lived a life of quiet desperation. He would have been a successful architect, made a lot of money, and married well, but he would have been dissatisfied without understanding why. The Pete who had thrown all that away may not have felt as safe and secure, but he knew he had a larger world and more choices.

He didn't want everything to go on as it had before.

"Even more now. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

Berg smiled. "About the porn?"

"About being attracted to me."

"I wasn't sure how you'd react. You're getting better, but you still can be prissy about the stupidest things."

"Oh, thanks."

"A cute prissy, though. You wouldn't be you without it."

"You know, when you had to wear that marching band costume for Homecoming, it was so hard to keep my hands off you, and I didn't know why."

"You weren't bad as the mascot, yourself."

"Being in a cell alone with you like that would have been a real kick if we hadn't actually been locked in."

"Prison guards can be so picky."

"We're partners in crime." Despite everything, Pete still felt a bit reluctant to touch Berg. It would be like taking liberties.

Berg backed away, took one of Pete's hands in his own, and brought it to his face. Pete sighed at the feel of heat, bone, and soft skin. It was an invitation. He moved his hand over a cheekbone and fluttering eyelids before moving down to stroke the long neck.

"You were one of the straightest guys I knew," Berg said, and Pete could feel the words vibrating into his hand. "I liked being your friend and living with you too much to destroy it."

"You were right." When he felt Berg stiffen, Pete continued, "Then. I wouldn't have been ready then."

"Now?"

"Now I think we went about it all backwards: moving in and living together before we even..." Pete took a deep breath, "had sex."

Pete could feel Berg's purr even as Berg said, "You don't have to do this."

"I want to."

As they kissed again, Pete lost himself in the feeling of being utterly possessed. He didn't know what the hell he was doing, but he was sure Berg would show him everything he needed to know. He enjoyed having someone else take the lead. He was terrified, but he wanted this, and Berg, so badly.

He knew that Berg tended to talk during sex, rambling breathy nonsense that had driven him insane with curiosity as he'd tried to make it out through the muffling walls. He wanted to hear it for himself now, know that he was responsible for reducing Berg to that, for stripping away all the cleverness and defenses...

"Oh my God!"

Pete turned to see Sharon at the door. She looked chagrined, while Berg looked deeply angry. Pete tried not to laugh.

"I knew you guys did... whatever, but I never thought I'd have to see it. Lock the door or something!"

"We. Never. Lock. The. Door. Though the idea is starting to look more attractive. Maybe if you knocked...?" Berg's voice could flay steel.

Sharon remained oblivious. "I'll leave you two alone. Eww!"

Once she'd shut the door, Berg said, "There has to be something I can do to her. Something even worse than displaying her tenth grade high school photo in public."

"She thought we were already sleeping together."

"That's what it sounds like."

"But she--" Then Pete lost track of his train of thought in the feel of the fingers that slowly stroked him through his jeans.

"Can we talk about something other than Sharon?"

"Sharon who?" Pete croaked.

"That's my boy."

"Yeah, I am." //And I like it.//

### End


End file.
